Industry driving rice research, development and extension – your feedback at work

The project plays a key role in enabling Australian rice growers to provide feedback on how their levy dollars are spent and help guide the key focus areas for rice RD&E.

“Through the VoLP project, the Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia (RGA) plays a crucial role as the conduit for feedback between Australian rice levy payers and RD&E programs. The ideas, challenges, and innovative solutions that growers present us with are key to driving productivity and strengthening the industry for the future,” said Lucinda Staley, AgriFutures Senior Manager Levied Industries – Rice.

As a global leader in water use efficiency, Australian rice research must continue to deliver outputs to the industry that drive increased yields and higher prices, with decreased water use.

Increasing the Australian rice industry’s water productivity by 30%, or to an industry average of 1.5t/ML, is the overarching goal of the AgriFutures Rice Program RD&E Plan 2021-26. Ambitious yes, but achievable with engagement through projects such as the VoLP, collaboration across the industry, and targeted investment in breeding, agronomy, and advancements in irrigation management.

VoLP Project Lead Neil Bull believes that increasing adoption of more efficient, regionally specific farming systems is the key to achieving the industry’s water productivity target.

“Using modern extension and communication strategies and approaches, direct engagement with growers and industry stakeholders at events and meetings, and online surveys is critical,” he said.

“The VoLP project provides a full feedback loop which begins with engagement at the grassroots level. We want to hear directly from growers what is happening on their farm, what are the issues they are facing? The feedback is then considered and can be addressed by the RD&E Program.

“Growers feel listened to, and their feedback also helps the Program to deliver practical knowledge and innovation that can be easily adopted by industry.”

Neil has ensured that growers are actively engaged with the project, and has made providing feedback as easy and convenient as possible. Operating with an ‘open door’ approach, Neil takes feedback in all forms including over the phone, in person at industry events, and through the online survey form https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ricelevypayerfeedback.

“It’s two directional. Feedback received from industry is passed on to the rice RD&E Management Committee for review, and feedback from the Committee is then provided to those who have made the submissions,” said Neil.

“The feedback received in the first year of the VoLP helped guide the AgriFutures Rice Program open call research themes, that are focused on achieving the industry water productivity target.”

So far, grower feedback has led to investments that address on-the-ground issues affecting the industry across the topics of agronomy, rice genetics, soil health, nitrogen applications, and pest and weed control.

Have your say on how YOUR levies are spent via the Voice of the Levy Payer project
Find out more about the AgriFutures Rice Program